Bruce Levenson, an American-Based Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist

Born on October 1st, 1949 in Washington, D.C., Mr. Bruce Levenson is an American businessman as well as a philanthropist. He is the former owner of NBA basketball team. He co-owned Philips Arena and Atlanta Hawks LLC, the owner and manager of Atlanta Hawks. In 2004, Bruce served as the governor of Hawks on the board of the NBA team. In 1997, he teamed up with Ed Peskowitz to establish United Communication Group (UCG-http://www.ucg.com/AboutUs/Ownership.aspx), a specialist in telecommunication, technology, banking, healthcare analysis, data, and news services. Also known as GasBuddy, United Communication Group owns a software that alerts motorists about the nearest low-priced gas stations.

Sale of the Hawks

In 2014, Mr. Bruce Levenson announced that he would sell the Hawks due to the low fan base and insufficient sponsorship. He encouraged the team’s executives to embrace diversity to avert racial sports in Atlanta. Bruce Levenson does not tolerate racism, and during his tenure at NBA, Bruce did his best to make the team fit for any race. As a result, he resorted to selling his shares at Hawks Franchise. Steve Koonin would serve as Bruce Levenson’s agent during the transaction.

However, Steve Koonin failed to strike a deal that would generate 27% profitability as expected. Consequently, Mr. Bruce hired Goldman Sachs and Inner Circle Sports to act as his agent. Although Bruce valued his shares at $ 1 billion, Andrew Zimbalist, a renowned sports economist predicted the sale to be between $700 and $750 million. The sale according to Forbes.com attracted several bidders but was won by Tony Ressler at $850 million.

Mr. Bruce has supported several philanthropic organizations such as Hoop Dreams Foundation and Community Foundation of Washington, D.C. Besides, as a dedicated philanthropist, Bruce supports the Holocaust Museum and Bringing the Lessons Home Program. Over the years, Bruce supported the Seed Foundation and Seeds of Peace programs to sustain peace. In 2015, Levenson and his wife, Karen headed John F. Kennedy Centre’s concert, which was meant to create awareness about the effects of hatred and defamation.